New Jersey lawmakers gave final passage to bills Monday to study geothermal heat pump systems, promote electric vehicle charger installation and require clarification of the status of a residential solar system when a house is sold. 

The Senate voted 35-1 for a bill, A5442, that would direct the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to study the “feasibility, marketability and costs of implementing large-scale geothermal heat pump systems in the state,” and to consider creating a pilot program to evaluate their use. The Assembly approved the bill 76-1 in June. 

Each of the bills passed Monday go to Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who has until Jan. 16 to sign, or not, his office said. 

Part of the geothermal study would look at whether a financial incentive system, or other strategies such as public-private partnerships, financial investments or university involvement would, “encourage and incentivize the development and successful deployment of geothermal energy and large-scale geothermal heat pump systems.” 

The study would evaluate the costs and savings to ratepayers, government entities, electric public utilities and the state.  

Although there are 3,400 geothermal heat pump systems in operation, and a major “geo-exchange” project is coming online at Princeton University, geothermal has not been a priority for New Jersey even as it has aggressively pursued other clean energy sources, such as wind and solar.  

Advocates say geothermal projects can heat or cool air and hot water extremely efficiently by harnessing the temperature of the earth below the surface. But the up-front costs can be high, requiring deep excavation and space to bury pipes underground. (See New Jersey Moves to Embrace Geothermal Heat Pumps.) 

Clean Energy EV Charging

The Senate also gave final approval to a bill, A4794, that would set up a program to develop clean energy electric vehicle (EV) charging depots with energy supplied by one or more distributed energy resources. The bill, which passed 24-9 in the Senate, passed out of the Assembly 62-12 in June. 

The bill would require the BPU, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Economic Development Authority (EDA) to issue a request for proposal (RFP) seeking entities to set up demonstration depot projects in six locations around the state. The bill makes each project eligible for $2 million in unspecified “assistance.” 

At least one depot would be required to be located in the area covered by each of the state’s four electric utilities, and the bill directs the agencies to favor projects that result in the installation of direct current fast chargers (DCFCs) and creates opportunities for charging medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and fleets. 

Other criteria set out in the bill that would make certain depot locations preferable to others include those located on brown fields, those that are publicly accessible or can serve public-serving fleets, and those that charge private fleets that serve overburdened communities. Also identified as preferable in the bill are projects that manage a charging program at peak periods or minimize demand charge peak. 

The Assembly also sent to the governor with a 31-2 vote a second bill, A4715, designed to make EV charging stations more accessible.   

The bill requires that any charging station that receives financial assistance from the BPU, DEP, Department of Transportation or any other state agency be operational at least 97% of the time. It also requires the state agencies to monitor compliance with the law and enforce it.  

The bill, which passed the Assembly with a 53-23 vote Monday, secured Senate approval by 35-1 in June.  

Easing Community Solar Accessibility

A third bill, S3234, given final approval by the Senate in a 36-0 vote, seeks to inject transparency into the status of a solar system mounted on a single-family home when it is sold. 

The bill, which the Assembly backed 78-0 in June, requires the contract with the purchaser to include the name and contact information of the developer that installed the system. It also requires the contract to “contain clear and precise language regarding if the owner selling the home is transferring the lease of the panels to a new residence or to the buyer of the home contracted for sale.”  

If the lease is going to be transferred to the new property owner, the name and details of the developer that installed the panels must be disclosed. 

Property owners who misrepresent or make false claims about the company that installed the solar system or who transfers the responsibility of a leased solar system to the buyer can face a penalty of up to $1,000 under the law. 

The legislative approval followed the signing by Murphy on Thursday of a bill, S3123, that will make it easier for ratepayers — especially low-income subscribers — to sign up to receive energy from projects developed in the state’s community solar program.  

The bill’s passage followed the enactment by the BPU of a permanent Community Solar program on Aug. 16, after two rounds of pilot programs that attracted extensive developer interest. (See NJ Opens Community Solar and Nuclear Support Programs.) 

The bill sets out similar annual capacity targets to the BPU program: 225 MW each year in the first two years and 150 MW each year after. It also allows low- and moderate-income residential customers to self-attest to their modest incomes in the application process to become a Community Solar subscriber. 

The state program requires that 51% of the subscribers to a Community Solar program have a low or moderate income. Developers have for a while argued that many eligible ratepayers either do not have the documentation required to prove their income level or are reluctant to divulge personal details, which made it difficult for them to reach the subscriber targets. 

“The Community Solar Energy Program isn’t just about achieving our clean energy goals — it is also about enabling households that ordinarily would not be able to reap the benefits of solar power to do so, such as renters or families whose homes cannot support solar panels,” said state Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Cranbury), a sponsor of the bill. “Families that choose to participate can annually save hundreds on their utility bills, and with the Governor’s signature, those savings will be felt by thousands more across New Jersey.”